One of the more inconvenient and often annoying aspects of driving an automotive vehicle is the continual need to find a place to park the vehicle when it is not in use.
A number of solutions are available for identifying available parking spaces and/or directing drivers seeking parking to those spaces. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/059,689 by Kato et al discloses a dedicated communication system to be implemented in vehicles to detect parking departure signs such as the unlocking of car doors, insertion of the ignition key, and the starting of the engine. Drivers of other cars in the area may then be directed via the communication system to park in what is presumed to be a space recently vacated by the first car.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/025,704 by Yoakum et al discloses a system utilizing mobile terminals, such as mobile telephones, to initiate parking information requests and receive parking information gathered from participating parking vendors. The mobile terminals are equipped with a location service to define the area in which to present parking space availability.